


Entropy has its Charms

by Garchomp445



Category: A Dark Room (Doublespeak Games), A Dark Room (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Implied Violence, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-15
Updated: 2016-06-15
Packaged: 2018-07-15 05:04:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7208861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Garchomp445/pseuds/Garchomp445
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So many wander the wasteland. So many die and add to the piles of fur, teeth, and scales. Some do not.</p><p>One-shot</p>
            </blockquote>





	Entropy has its Charms

Through the thin, brittle underbrush, she sees an obvious snare, a token of a new settlement springing to life. Another one she’ll have to take care of. The witch chuckles to herself, puts away her knotted cane, and glances around her outfit for another charm. The hundreds of magical carvings dangling by long strings depict everything from ancient, pudgy animals, to caricatures of large lizards and stilted reptilian birds. She smiles at her own handiwork, as she knows that it won’t be around for much longer. Her wrinkled, gloved hands move over a tiny right triangle with the numerals three, four, and five inscribed on corresponding sides. She holds it out in front of her, putting it up to the sky for a slightly better, last look at it.

She smiles more painfully this time, ancient joints creaking in distress, then drops it by the trap. If they need it, they’ll find it. Retrieving her cane from the crook of her shoulder, she continues plodding on her way, long robes rustling the grass.

Time passes. The field blurs. Her youth, spent in towns with working cars, billions of people alive instead of thousands, couldn’t feel more distant now. Just to help those few left survive is her mission now. Well, indirectly help. It wasn’t her fault if a few monsters snagged a charm or two, since humans would know to consciously collect them.

She shuddered slightly at the thought of what else might try to consciously collect them, but that would be impossible. They had been removed from this planet very… thoroughly.

Drifting in thought through the weeds and long grass, she doesn’t notice a scaley bird perched on its two impossibly tall legs slowly walk up to her. It knows an easy meal when it sees one. The old, frail witch turns slowly, closing her eyes just before she feels a deep, wild pain from her scalp-

 

\--

 

She wakes with a start, knees protesting as she tries to return to an upright position, barely hanging onto her heavy rebar cane.

It used to be worth checking to see which charm had saved her life. Now, she just knows. Her cluttered workbench and frigid house contain many more charms than she’ll be able to count in a normal lifetime, but she chose this life a long time ago. A grim smile wavers on her lips as all the old aches and pains remember their places, her back seizing up, her fingers trembling, all ignored as she marches to the door for another go. After certain deaths, she’s greeted by a fell beast or diseased rodent, but the withered, twisted grass is her welcome this time. Closing her eyes, she tries to imagine what green grass must’ve looked like all those years ago.

That’s all the motivation she needs as she sets out again.

**Author's Note:**

> I really like the feel of A Dark Room and other horror properties such as Nightvale, and writing them is a very interesting challenge. There's always something to draw attention to, or away from, and I definitely haven't quite mastered that, especially in such a short format. Still, I won't stop trying until I can start documenting my nightmares on this site.


End file.
